Design Thinking for Startups Amir
Khella @amirkhella

What is Design? It’s the
process by which an artifact is brought into existence. “Design is art that people use” - Ellen Lupton

What is design thinking? It’s
a mindset of combining creative and analytical thinking and applying it toward solving a specific problem.

Bad definition. "Unlike analytical thinking,
design thinking is a creative process based around the ‘building up’ of ideas." - Wikipedia

Good definition. “A process of
creative and critical thinking that allows information and ideas to be organized, decisions to be made, situations to be improved, and knowledge to be gained.” - Charles Burnette

Design thinking combines CREATIVE and
ANALYTICAL thinking.

It’s both abductive
and deductive.

Being deductive means using past
knowledge to solve current problems.

Being abductive means imagining and
visualizing a future that should yet exist.

Yesterday Today Tomorrow Experiences Imagination
Patterns Possibilities Stories Stories Observations Uncertainty

Then, what’s
innovation?

It’s a byproduct of design
thinking.

It’s being comfortable going forward
in a state of uncertainty

It’s believing that the best
solution is yet to be found.

It’s the willingness to fail
early and fail often.

Unfortunately, that’s not what we
learn in school.

School Life Real Life Mistakes
are learning Mistakes are punished. experiences. Failure is not tolerated. Failure breeds success. Given the questions; find Ask great questions; find the the right answers. best answers. Intuition and imagination Knowledge and certainty create potential for using foster confidence. knowledge.

What makes a good design
thinker?

An observing eye and a
constant sense of wonder.

An empathetic attitude toward people’s
behavior and habits.

A questioning mindset that goes
beyond the obvious.

Patience to remain in problem
space until the right questions are identified.

A holistic approach to problem
solving.

The willingness to experiment and
build.

A passion for collaboration.

So, how does a startup
integrate design thinking into its process?

1. Understand that design thinking
is not just the designer’s role; it’s everyone’s role.

Design is not about products;
it’s about people. Think beyond tasks; Their lives. Their challenges. Their dreams. The user’s journey starts long before they click that button.

2. Understand and define the
problem you’re trying to solve. Take the time to ask a lot of annoying WHY questions. And don’t move to the solution space too soon.

Create a story. Our brains
are hardwired for stories. If we like them, we remember them forever. Like a good movie, design should tell a good story.

Communicate your story, and ask
people to tell you what they heard and what they think. * Don’t be afraid that someone will steal your story; it’s very likely that many people had that idea before you, and did nothing about it.

Sketch you ideas. You don’t
need to know how to draw in order to sketch. As long as your sketches capture your ideas, it doesn’t matter if they “don’t look good”.

Create quick and crude prototypes
Prototypes create conversations. They are ALIVE! The sooner they work, the sooner you realize what your product needs to be.

3. Refine your prototype until
it becomes like a movie trailer for your product. It will always remind you of your story. And don’t worry about it being too functional or good looking.

Create a design-friendly
environment

Remove walls between people. And
encourage frequent conversations.

Create design walls. Imprint designs
in the back of everyone’s mind Photo courtesy of ewhitworth.com

4. Run a weekly or
monthly brainstorming meeting to encourage wild ideas. The best way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas. And the best time to get good ideas may be when you don’t need them.

5. Encourage your team to
think visually. Ask them to carry sketchbooks and to freely express their ideas on whiteboards.

Visit a design agency for
a day Design agencies typically create great design environments.

6. Become your own best
competition. Don’t get too comfortable with success. A design is NEVER done. It’s never good enough. Solve harder problems than your competition does.

Define and embrace constraints as
part of the creative process. The main difference between a rocket and a bomb is that the former is a controlled explosion.

Create a character for your
product What will your product be if it were a car? a phone? a shoe? Who will your product be if it were a movie star? a political figure? Describe your products in human-like adjectives.

7. Hire T-shaped individuals. They
tend to be professional in one area, but are skilled in many other areas. They are highly intuitive. And they work as bridges between disciplines.

Discourage rigid roles. Leave these
roles to enterprises. Everyone should be a product caretaker.

Encourage cross-training. Give your designers
business training and your developers design training. Invite outsiders to come and talk about what they do, even if it’s nothing related to what your team is working on.

If possible, elect a CDO
role (Chief Design Officer) Let people in your company understand that design is as valuable as technology and business.

Anyone can be a designer
Anyone can be a good design thinker

The most inspiring quote from
a founder I’ve worked with. “This looks exciting and scary. Let’s do it!”

Where to go from here?
•Follow me on Twitter: @amirkhella I tweet links, quick insights and advice about Design Thinking for Startups •Visit my blog: www.amirkhella.com I write short posts about design, business and life •Sign up for an upcoming webinar Get one-on-one design advice about your product and business Amir Khella User Experience Guru amir@fictiv.com